Army Public School Bangalore won the India finals of the FC Bayern Youth Cup and will take part in the World Finals in May 2018

Army Public School Bangalore team celebrate at the podium of the FC Bayern Yough Cup India in New Delhi on Sunday.(HT Photo)

Army Public School Bangalore beat Campeon School Mumbai 4-1 in the 30-minute final to emerge champions at the FC Bayern Youth Cup India 2017-18 in New Delhi on Sunday.

The India finals of the under-16, seven-a-side inter-school football tournament was played at the weekend in Delhi where the winners from five cities took on each other. Out of the 200 schools that participated in the tournament, 12 schools from Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata and the northeast qualified for the India finals.

French football legend and FC Bayern Munich Hall of Famer Bixente Lizarazu, who was the chief guest at the finals, interacted with the young footballers and shared his expertise on professional football. He awarded the winning team with the trophy as well as the ticket to the FC Bayern Youth Cup World Finals to be held at the iconic Allianz Arena, Munich, in May 2018.

The winning teams from China, Thailand, Nigeria, Poland, USA and Germany and India will take part in the World Finals.

“It was a great weekend with the kids and a pleasure to see such skilled young talents. FC Bayern and adidas through the FC Bayern Youth Cup will go a long way in nurturing grassroots football in India and inspire the youth to take part in the sport,” said Lizarazu.

“The FC Bayern tournament enables us to scout the top players from select countries and give them a platform that acknowledges their talent as well as enable them to participate in an international championship, further allowing them to garner experience, exposure and exchange of knowledge at a global level,” he added.